Your views are requested on the re-siting of the Millennium Bench and three applications for the last of the New Homes Bonus.

In this issue:
  1. Bulb Sunday Service, 17th February
  2. New Homes Bonus Applications
  3. Millennium Bench
  4. Lost and Found Cat, and Other Short Stories
  5. St James’ Church Urgently Needs You!
  6. Bystander Archives
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1. Bulb Sunday Service, 17th February

The Bulb Sunday Service will be held in St James’ Church this Sunday, 17th February at 3.00pm. The service will be conducted by Revd Claire Lording. Tea and cake will be available in Birlingham Village Hall afterwards.

Meanwhile, visitors to the churchyard bulbs can enjoy tea, coffee and homemade cakes in the Village Hall between 11.00am and 4.00pm each Saturday and Sunday until 24th February.

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2. New Homes Bonus Applications

Ian Yates writes:
The New Homes Bonus (NHB) scheme was introduced by the government in 2011 and was designed to ensure the economic benefits of housing growth are returned to the communities in which the growth takes place. Birlingham has had very little housing development and so the value of our NHB is relatively small. However it has been used in the past to fund improvements at Birlingham Village Hall, the Cricket Club and provide a new marquee for the Flower and Produce Show and other village activities. The government has now decided to replace this scheme with a new Community Legacy Grant Scheme and any unused NHB money will be lost if proposals are not submitted by 18th March 2019.

The value of Birlingham’s NHB is currently £1372. The money will only be released by Wychavon District Council for proposals that meet their project criteria. There are three projects that the Parish Council is thinking of proposing for NHB funding (see below) but would like to receive any comments and feedback from residents.

  • Millennium Bench. This is the circular bench that surrounds the plane tree on the village green opposite the lych-gate. It has been mentioned at previous Parish Council meetings that the bench is now damaging the plane tree by cutting into the trunk and roots and having had the tree surveyed by a tree surgeon, the recommendation is that the bench be removed. As the bench is popular with villagers and walkers it is hoped that it can be reassembled and re-sited on the village green. However, due to the slope on the green, an area will need to be levelled and finished with stone. Carpentry and ground work costs are estimated to be £1000. It is hoped that £872 can be funded from NHB with the balance coming from Parish Council funds.
  • War Memorial. As mentioned in the Parish Council November minutes, a booklet has been published in commemoration of WW1 titled Birlingham in the Great War of 1914-1918 Lest We Forget. Part of the research revealed that Frederick Quarrell a villager that died in the war is not on the Birlingham memorial or on any other war memorial. The Parish Council fully supports the inclusion of his name on the war memorial and is proposing to submit an application for NHB funding as a contribution towards the stonemason’s cost of £300.
  • Birlingham in the Second World War. As mentioned above, as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the Jubilee Committee produced a booklet detailing the 50 men who went to war. The committee is now planning a similar booklet to mark the 75th anniversary, in 2020, of the end of the Second World War, covering the 39 men and women from Birlingham who saw active service. The booklet would provide a permanent record of the service personnel and their families, and of life in Birlingham during the war years. The production costs are estimated to be £432 and the Jubilee Committee are applying for a grant of £200 towards these costs. The remainder of the printing costs will be raised by the committee.
Residents are therefore invited to contact the Clerk at birlingham_clerk@yahoo.co.uk if they have comments on any of these proposals. Due to the fact that the current NHB scheme is due to end shortly, comments must be received no later than Thursday 28th February.

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3. Millennium Bench

Steven Byrne writes:
The removal and repositioning of the Millennium Bench from around the Plane Tree on the village green, opposite the parish church

The much loved Millennium Bench, used by parishioners and visitors to the village and Church throughout the year, is showing its age and creating an issue for the tree it encircles. The Bench encompassing the mature plane tree on the village green needs to be removed and relocated, following advice from a well-respected tree surgeon. As a result of the growth of the tree root system since the bench was positioned there, the bench is now having a detrimental effect on the roots. Further, the bench is in need of repair, and we would like to undertake this at the same time.

The Parish Council are proposing to prepare a level area on the village green to place the refurbished Millennium Bench on. It is proposed the prepared surface will have Cotswolds stone, with the Millennium Bench positioned in the middle.

The Parish Council would appreciate members of the parish’s views on the proposed relocation of the Bench on the village green, or indeed suggestions as to an alternative location which are fully accessible to residents.

Please send your comments to the Parish Clerk at birlingham_clerk@yahoo.co.uk.

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4. Lost and Found Cat, and Other Short Stories

Last week a black cat went missing in Birlingham and a notice was posted on the Birlingham online Noticeboard. The cat was found by someone who then posted a picture on the Eckington noticeboard. This notice was subsequently seen by a relative of the owner and we are pleased to say that cat and owner have now been reunited. This story shows the potential power of online village noticeboards.

Other notices on the Birlingham Noticeboard have covered a search for garage space, a sighting of a suspicious vehicle in the village, the Bulb Teas and the Burns Night Supper. We hope that more people will register for the Birlingham Noticeboard or check it online, so that more cats can find their way home, garages can be filled and events can be made a greater success.

The Noticeboard is accessed from a link on the main page or directly at www.birlingham.org/noticeboard. Initial registration is quick and easy, and you can opt to have new notices delivered direct to your email inbox.

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5. St James’ Church Urgently Needs You!

Revd Claire Lording writes:
Everything we do at church is a team effort but we need people to be part of the team. Some people have particular roles which ensure the smooth day to day running of the church. Churchwardens have a particular leadership role and without them it becomes difficult for us to legally operate as a parish church. Both Ann Maxwell and Ali Hastings are stepping down as Churchwardens at the Annual Meeting on 2nd April and we don’t seem to have any natural successors. Can you help? It is expected that a churchwarden will come regularly to church to share in its life and worship.

We also need some help with our finance. After John Hill died Neil Eldred came forward to be our Treasurer and to keep the books in good order. However, the day-to-day banking has been ably handled by Ann Maxwell. As she is standing down as Churchwarden this will no longer be possible. What we are looking for is a Treasurer’s Assistant who is able to handle all the day-to-day aspects of the Treasurer’s role including banking and dealing with correspondence.

There is also always room for more people to join the PCC.

If you think you can help in any way, or want to know more about what’s involved, please contact Ann, Ali or me. Thank you, Claire (vicar.pershoreabbey@gmail.com, 01386 552071).

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6. Bystander Archives

The second edition of the Birlingham Bystander, from Winter 1982, is now available on the website. This 24-page edition (eight pages more than Issue 1) includes articles on a village in Botswana; a description of veteran and vintage cars by Vic Butler; more controversy in the Letters section on moles and the Gentlemen’s Club; the history of Nafford Lock; thoughts on planning matters by Richard Foulkes; a village photograph from the coronation of King George V in 1910; and more. The issue also includes recipes, wildlife notes, fashion and the first appearance of paid adverts. The editors managed to pack a huge range of content into the magazine!

The first two editions of the Bystander can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/village/bystander.

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